Optical fiber communication, which has been one of the mainstays in modern communication, is essential to the modern telecommunication network. Optical fibers, as transmission media for high-speed broadband digital communication, are used increasingly widely along with the development of the network science and technology. An optical fiber connector is a device serving for a detachable (removable) connection between optical fibers, so as to precisely abut an end face of an optical fiber on an end face of another optical fiber, so that the light energy outputted from a transmitting optical fiber can be maximally coupled to a receiving optical fiber and an impact on the system caused by the intervention of the optical fiber connector into the optical link can be minimized. Currently, a common optical fiber connector may be of, for example, a Ferrule Connector (FC), Subscriber Connector (SC), Straight Tip (ST), Lucent Connector (LC), D4, DIN, Miniature unit Coupling (MU) or Mechanical Transfer (MT) type, depending on the structure of its connecting head.
The type-FC optical fiber connector, which was first developed by NTT from Japan, is externally strengthened by a metal sleeve and fastened by a turnbuckle.
The type-SC optical fiber connector has a cuboid casing, and inserting pins and a coupling sleeve with the identical structures and dimensions as the type-FC optical fiber connector, and may be fastened by a bolt.
The type-ST optical fiber connector is different from the type-SC optical fiber connector in that a core of the ST connector is exposed while the core of the SC connector is within the connecting head.
The type-LC optical fiber connector, which was researched and developed by famous Bell Labs, is made with a modular Registered Jack (RJ) latch mechanism which is easy for operations. The dimension of the inserting pins and the sleeve of the type-LC optical fiber connector is 1.25 mm, i.e. half of that of the common type-SC or type-FC optical fiber connector and so on, and the dimension of the corresponding interface end face of the type-LC optical fiber connector is 4.5 mm×4.5 mm, thereby increasing the density of the optical fiber connectors in an optical fiber distributing frame. Currently, the type-LC connector has become dominant in terms of single-mode Small Form Factor (SFF) and its multi-mode applications are rapidly increased.
The Miniature Unit Coupling (MU) connector is so far the minimum single-core optical fiber connector developed by NTT based on the most used type-SC connector, and employs an aluminium pipe with a diameter of 1.25 mm and a self-holding mechanism. The MU connector is advantageous for its suitability for high-density installation, but has an interface end face with a dimension up to 6.5 mm×4.5 mm.
With the large-scale promotion of Fiber To The Home (FTTH), the optical fiber network is developed with the broader bandwidth and the larger capacity, and more and more optical fibers need to be connected in an optical access network. Correspondingly, the transition capacity demand for hardware equipment is also growing, the installation density of the optical fiber connectors needs to be improved, and the volume of the optical fiber connector needs to be decreased, especially the lateral dimension of the interface end face of the optical fiber connector is required to be reduced as much as possible, so as to increase the installation density of the optical fiber connectors without any change to the physical volume of the existing equipment. However, the structure and the assembly process of the above existing optical fiber connectors do not meet such demands.